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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bank — of a river
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kid — child
  9. last — to go on
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kid — to tease
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. last — final
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com